Scrambling to her feet, Kenza made a dash for the gaping hole in the wall, ducking her head as she slid through it. She kept running after passing through the stone wall, completely prepared to keep up the run if necessary.

In the room a few doors down, Mistletoe had collapsed into a heap on the floor, one arm still cradling the other. A thud from beyond the wall of the next room sent her into high alert, however. She was no longer close to the library, so what had it been?

Did it... Did it hear me running? she wondered, glancing around the room she was in for something to grab onto. Anything she could wield would do; if she was to go down, she'd go down fighting.

Using the floor to push herself to her feet, Mistletoe walked briskly over to the opposite side of the room, uninjured hand stretched in front of her as she tried to feel for something she could use.

---

@hekazu@lord of evil

Derrick ran as fast as he could. The plan hadn't worked out exactly like he'd hoped but it hadn't come to nothing either. Whether it had backfired or not was up for debate but it wasn't unsalvageable. And if his teammates had managed to do something then the plan had technically succeeded, though in the best case scenario he'd come out of his plan intact.

He ran through the clearest path he could, mainly for speed but also to make sure that the jailer didn't fly above him. Derrick could feel the cold behind him, and kept running. He ducked between two standing bookcases and swept his halberd behind him as he cleared them, hoping to topple one of them as he ran. He didn't wait to see the results of his action, he was too busy looking for more bookcases to put between him and the jailor.

@Dusksong@Hekazu

Kenza's attempt at running was met with another peppering shower of projectiles after her, several snapping into her feet and torso with finally a cluster of five or so beat her mercilessly on her skull, knocking her down onto the ground. One of the smaller gargoyles crash landed onto her back, adding its weight onto her to slow her down while the other flew in front of her. The way outside was so close, but the small gargoyles had the advantage in numbers. She could maybe overpower the other, but then the remaining one would get her. If she was to get out of this, she would really have to think outside of the box. Or maybe this was the end of the road?

Likewise, Derrick was in trouble. He ran from the Jailor who leisurely beat its wings as it followed. "Feel the pain of the creatures you sacrificed for yourself", it spoke as one final forceful beat of the stone wings sent forth a giant ball of radiant white energy. "Your soul will share their burden!" The blast started moving slowly, but accelerated to an immeasurably quick speed before colliding with the hunter. On impact, he first felt nothing. He could simply see his body falling onto the floor as he ran on for a few more seconds until something tugged on his back. Only now he realised what had happened: His body laid on the floor and some ethereal form of himself stood at the other end of a silver cord. The Jailor flew next to his body and clinked the shackles in its hands. "Do not fear death. The maze awaits."

As for Mistletoe, after the first sound, there was nothing. The silence was only broken by the creaking of an old house around her, everything within this room unmoving. If nothing else, she had found shelter. But what was this place?

@Dusksong@Lord of Evil

Kenza managed to fend off the majority of the projectiles with her shield, but, since the gargoyles shot at her from different angles, some of the projectiles broke through and knocked her to the ground. Still, she gripped onto her sword and shield, formulating her plan quickly from her position on the ground. If nothing else, her time as a hunter had taught her to pick her fights — figure out when to fight and when to run — and this was one time she would have to run.

Using the combined surface of her shield and sword, Kenza launched the gargoyle perched on top of her off, springing to her feet and ramming the gargoyle in front of her towards the spiderwebs draped around her escape. Then, as she ran for her escape route, she flung her sword and shield towards the gargoyle she'd knocked away first in an effort to distract it. This was it — all or nothing. Escapes seemed to work best when used as a last resort; something about the added desperation seemed to empower Kenza, helping her run towards the exit.

In the other room, Mistletoe moved farther towards the other side of the room, relieved that the noise seemed only to be some creaking. If there was nothing in this room, she would probably have to move on to another, or even run back and help her companions. She'd abandoned them, in a way, although she'd been the deadweight for some time. That she was still alive after all the injuries she'd sustained was impressive on its own; she'd be the first to fall in a chase.

---

@hekazu@lord of evil

Derrick had no idea what was even going on now, but he had a bad feeling about it. His body was behind where he was somehow, and he'd still run a little more, but he felt a pull preventing him from going further. He looked back to see the silver cord impeding his progress, and the jailor about to do something to his body on the floor.

Derrick was confused, seeing the body on the floor behind him. He was also scared by the jailor's appearance; he'd never seen it from up close and in good lighting. But he couldn't be scared now. Derrick's group had a tactic of using one of their members to lure a monster towards an ambush, but they sometimes used it to help them regroup. It usually fell to Derrick to do the distracting since he was the smallest. Still, he'd never been too afraid, since he knew that the others would come back to help him. But that wasn't happening now. It'd been a gamble from the start, with a low chance of him coming out alive. Still, if nothing else, he wanted to help the others somehow. As far as Derrick was concerned, coming out of this alive would be a bonus, but he didn't know how he would manage that in his current state, dubious as it was.

Derrick clicked his tongue and ran back towards his body. He didn't know why it was over there but he wagered that it wasn't a good thing. He couldn't run anymore, so there was only one way to go. It seemed for all the world that he'd slipped out of his body somehow, and he didn't want to stay that way for long. Still, he didn't know what to think, and there wasn't much time regardless, so he decided to rush the towards the jailor, and maybe push him into something.
@Dusksong@Hekazu

Kenza pulling out her shield to protect her made the gargoyle on top of her lose its balance, allowing her to shake the quite heavy opponent off her. The one in front of her reacted by firing at her immediately, the shots hurting but luckily none of them striking her in the face. Besides, it felt as if the creatures were losing the potency of their attacks. Good for her, bad for them. She pushed the other one out of her way and simply charged onward. The gargoyles fluttered after her, but as soon as she made it out of this place the sound of their wings began to sound rather distant. Part of it might be that she fell about half a storey. But she was outside and it didn't seem like the gargoyles were following. Before her was a forest of big and old trees. She had indeed made it outside.

As for Mistletoe, she stumbled along in the dark room, finding a window at the other end of it. It was hidden behind a heavy curtain and there was little to no light coming from the outside, but there it was. A quick peek outside showed her a forest on this side of the building, but not much more. Now that there was some light in the room, it became clear that this was some sort of a servant's passageway. An unusual location for a window, but that was the closest thing she could assume this place was. To her right, there was a set of stairs going up, but otherwise there was little she could see.

In Derrick's case, what we can only assume was his soul had decided not to take the advice of the Jailor and fought back. His ethereal hands phased through the black rock of the Jailor and into the blue flames beneath. He could feel the strange fire tickling his hands, but there was no pain accompanying it. The Jailor shuddered and drew back, only to lash out with the shackle in its right hand. And that thing managed to touch and hurt the hunter. "Fight not the inevitable!" the Jailor bellowed, preparing to swing the shackle in its left hand, but its aim seemed to be at something other than the hunter himself...

@Dusksong@Lord of Evil

The bite of fresh air made Kenza hesitate, looking back briefly — where were Derrick and Mistletoe? However, the time-old yet oft unspoken hunter mantra ran through her head: every man for himself. The chances of her getting up back through the opening she’d fallen through were slim, and she wasn’t certain she’d be able to do anything useful if she got back up anyway. So, off she went, sprinting through the trees. Living, she could feed her family. Risking her life for others’ and winding up dead — that was never what she signed up to do.

Mistletoe, figuring that she ought not to stay in any one place for too long, took to the stairwell quickly after examining the scene outside fo the window. As the deadweight of the group, she would be the one dragging them down in battle, especially if either of her teammates treated her as an equal. Solitary hunting was straightforward in that aspect: you were a lone wolf; you live, hunt, and die alone should the occasion call for it. Working with a team… Mistletoe felt a twinge of guilt as she looked to the stairwell.

This is probably the most idiotic choice, she thought, ripping the curtain from its place above the window and heading back to the door she came from. But running and picking your fights isn’t always the answer.

With that, she exited into the hallway and headed back to the library, hefting the curtain experimentally in her hand. It was heavy, but that worked to her benefit. It’d be a good distraction, however quickly destroyed.

---

@lord of evil@hekazu

It looked as if something Derrick did had achieved something or other, although he had suffered some backlash. It appeared that the Jailor was capable enough of hurting him despite his apparent lack of substance, which made the situation more tenuous than he'd like. But still, he'd somehow made it back off, and that was more than he could've hoped for.

The Jailor's swing seemed a little off; maybe Derrick's actions had skewed its aim somehow. He doubted that, but he wouldn't let this opportunity go.

Derrick leaped forward towards the gargoyle, sidestepping the chain as it swung, intending to pass through its body towards its blue flame. Touching it a bit with his hand had done something, so what would tackling it with his body do? Derrick hoped that it would help him somehow.
@Hekazu@Dusksong

Kenza ran away from the building, not wanting to look back. And who could blame her? The forest welcomed her among the trees and in the fading light she made her way onward. Eventually she would be lucky enough to find a path and could follow it back to civilisation. It had been a close call and it might well have left her with scars that would never heal... but at least she had made it out with her life. While some of the questions that she had thought of had never received an answer, the saying 'curiosity killed the cat' did not exist for nothing.

Behind the one that ran away, Mistletoe had chosen to be the exact opposite of Kenza. She thought saving her friends was the important thing here and now and abandoning her earlier plans of running, took hold of the curtain that had covered the window and ripped it away. Holding it in her hands, she rushed back to the hallway with the intention of reaching the library in her mind. Little did she know, the combat between the two that had remained behind would be over by the time she could reasonably reach them...

As Derrick rushed at the Jailor, he could notice what the creature had been aiming for: It had swung the broken shackle at the cord behind him. The soul rushed at the flaming creature, even colliding with it and drawing a pained gasp from it, but this did not save the cord from the assault! The shackle hit and the chain that was hanging off of it wrapped around the silver. With one beat of its wings and another pained gasp, the Jailor took off into the air. The shackle pulled away at the cord... and cut it. Now only attached to the Jailor's chain, Derrick could feel his soul flying in the air, but the feeling was muffled by the sharp pain from the breaking of the cord. "To the narrow maze with you!" the creature bellowed, just as the third hunter arrived to the door...

@Dusksong@Lord of Evil

With that, she exited into the hallway and headed back to the library, hefting the curtain experimentally in her hand. It was heavy, but that worked to her benefit. It’d be a good distraction, however quickly destroyed.

Mistletoe rounded the corner into the library, eyes scanning the toppled shelves briskly. A bellow snapped her head over in time to catch Derrick and the Jailor struggling against some sort of misty chain. From their previous encounter, it'd been clear that the Jailor was the gargoyle in command and therefore probably the strongest. There were a few gargoyles gathered by the other side of the room, but Kenza was nowhere in sight.

Assuming the worst, Mistletoe thought, swallowing her sadness, that leaves me and Derrick.

So, going along with the trend of doing selfless acts that may very well get her killed, Mistletoe rushed at the struggling pair. Using her momentum, Mistletoe flung the curtain she'd been carrying at the gargoyle-like beast, hoping that it would serve as a sufficient distraction.

"Derrick!" Mistletoe hissed to the other hunter. "We need to go!"

---

@hekazu@lord of evil

In retrospect, Derrick should probably have seen that coming. One of the few things apparent with the Jailor was that it wasn't human, and probably wasn't even alive at all, so expecting human error from it was probably a mistake. Its aim was true, and the shackle had somehow cut through... whatever it was attaching Derrick to his body.

A momentary bout of pain led to a feeling of weightlessness. That wasn't quite right... He was starting to float upwards. Reflexively he grabbed the end of the severed cord attached to his body, hoping that it occupied the same plane as he did, before he heard a familiar voice. He whirled around and saw Mistletoe come towards him, or rather, his body.
"I'm a little bit preoccupied here!" Derrick yelled back. "Could you help me out please!?"
@Dusksong@Hekazu

The Jailor tried to reach above the shelves of the room, but could feel something dragging it down. A quick look showed it the hunter was still hanging on to the body of his. "Death is inescapable, frail one. Come now, prolong your suffering no longer", it spoke in a calm, 'as a matter of fact' tone. It knew that if the hunter continued to resist, the small gargoyles of it would return to their master soon and help him detach this clinging fool. However, the reappearance of the third hunter threw the Jailor off for a solid second. "They return to me..." it muttered, swinging its free shackle in a tiny arc so that the chain on it straightened itself.

The two gargoyles returned to the room, with no trace of Kenza anywhere. It disappointed the Jailor, but on the other hand it had only two hands and there were two hunters present. Things could have been worse. "Ekil Erif, Ekam Erif, Erif Erif... May Necro'Lic forgive his Jailor for the one that got away", the Jailor spoke in a soft tone, barely audible to even Derrick who was just below it. It beat its wings a few more times, trying to finally detach the hunter from his body. He would have no need for it in the maze.

@Dusksong@Lord of Evil

It didn't have any effect? Mistletoe thought, dancing back over books when the jailor turned towards her. She needn't have, though; the jailor seemed to tune her out completely, marking her as a lesser threat.

Turning around, Mistletoe spotted the two approaching gargoyles from a distance that was quickly closing. They seemed to be heading away from the wall Kenza had checked back when the hunters were scanning the perimeter of the room.

Kenza mentioned that there was a hole in the wall — one through which she could see well beyond the castle. Did she perhaps? Mistletoe paused, gritting her teeth. Was that a risk she wanted to take?

"Derrick! The wall that Kenza mentioned!" Mistletoe yelled at Derrick as she stooped down, picking up a few heavy volumes and hurling them at the Jailor. At the very least, it would serve to distract the monster for a second or two as Derrick attempted to break away.

---

@lord of evil@hekazu

Derrick was in dire straits. The Jailor had him in his grasp and didn't show any signs of hurrying, so it was probably thinking that it had it in the bag. And it was probably true. Things were bad, though he wasn't sure how bad. Still, Derrick could do something. He knew he could hurt it somewhat, and he'd hang on to that feeble hope however he could.

As the Jailor grabbed him, Derrick grabbed onto the cord with both hands, determined not to be taken away. He flailed his legs in direction of the Jailor's flames as best he could, but he knew that it probably wouldn't do much. Not alone, anyway. But he didn't really want Mistletoe to fight the Jailor, and that probably wouldn't work so well anyway. And besides, there were the other gargoyles. If they weren't here then they'd be coming. So what could Mistletoe do for him?

Derrick thought quickly, forming a rather desperate idea. It had a higher possibility of working than anything else, but that didn't really mean much.
"Mistletoe, take my body!" Derrick yelled desperately, still flailing his legs. "Somewhere - anywhere, just not here!"
@Hekazu@Dusksong

The few heavy volumes tossed at the Jailor seemed to knock it out of whatever trance it had been in, the blue flames that were all around its body flaring to even greater life than they had already exhibited. A final, much more forceful beat of its wings finally cut the cord that kept Derrick's soul attached to his body, a dullness setting in as his ethereal form slowly, even gently, began being absorbed to the Jailor's flames. "I am inescapable!" the Jailor bellowed, releasing another blast of ethereal energy, fuelled by the male hunter's essence.

The shot impacted Mistletoe, them soon finding themselves in a similar predicament to the other hunter. Their body collapsed down to their feet, their soul standing above it, attached by a silvery cord. A small blue flame that had not been there before burned at the end of the shackle held in the Jailor's left hand, somewhere from which Derrick could just barely make out what was still going on. But he could not move. Only watch.

"Follow me. The Narrow Maze awaits", the Jailor suggested and approached with a slow beat of its wings, carrying the weight of inevitability in its actions. However, something kept gnawing at the back of Mistletoe's mind. Maybe, just maybe, there was still a way out of this situation... An unfortunately familiar coldness began to form around her as she thought. Whatever it was she would do, it would need to be done quickly.

@Dusksong@Lord of Evil

Now separated from her body and surrounded by cold, Mistletoe felt the world slow to a hum at her side.

I... My soul? she wondered, glancing back at her and Derrick's still bodies before looking upon the Jailor again. Her eyes were drawn to the glowing blue flame at the end of the other shackle. Is that... Derrick?

When the Jailor approached, Mistletoe snapped herself to focus again, shrugging off the enveloping cold. I need to save Derrick and get back in my body, she thought, glancing at jailor's chains again. He's holding them, but he's not immune.

With that thought in mind, Mistletoe waited for the Jailor to come closer before lashing out with her legs, fists, and whatever else she could to attack the winged figure before launching herself back towards her body in an attempt to reenter it.

---

@hekazu@lord of evil

Well, that most certainly failed. There wasn't much he could do about it now, but the worst thing was that he hadn't managed to save Mistletoe. He supposed that 1 out of 2 wasn't as bad as it could be, but that wasn't a good attitude to take. Even then, Derrick was in no position to help much. With the Jailor grabbing him like that he couldn't move, but if he could put out a few words then maybe it would work out.
"The flames! I hurt him by touching the flames!" Derrick said.
@Dusksong@Hekazu

Mistletoe's choice of waiting may have well been what doomed her. The cold around her intensified by the second and by the time the Jailor had closed in for her tactic to spring off, she found her limbs much too heavy to deliver nearly as many strikes as she would have wanted. And even those that she could do, she found ghastly hands grabbing her, slowing down the strikes further. Realising the futility of the attempted she went right on into step two of her plan, diving for her body down on the ground. In even that endeavour, the hands tried to stop her, but for now they were too weak. She punched her hands back into where they belonged, as well as kicked her feet into place. The familiar feeling of a beating heart and a rising chest returned to her as the basic bodily functions resumed in her consciousness.

She jumped to her feet, only to catch a projectile that snapped on impact to the back of her head and sent her back to the ground. Of course, that had been from the gargoyles behind her. They had finally joined back in. But on the other hand, they were not the only ones that joined the combat. From the door, a creature had skulked to the battlefield without anyone's notice. It's jet black fur waved in the gentle breeze coming from the outside as it raised and lowered its claws, sending a booming roar forth from its maw. Wolfwing was back.

The Jailor's reaction was immediate, the blue flames of its body flashed brightly before vanishing as it curled back into the statue it had been when first encountered. The Gargoyles followed suit, curling up and falling to the ground. Unfortunately, the flame that had represented Derrick's soul was gone just as well, the male hunter joining the magical being in this so called 'Narrow Maze' it called it's home. But the vanishing of an adversary hardly was the salvation Mistletoe had been seeking, the creature she had originally set out to hunt descending upon her, crashing their clawed hand around her neck.

There was little doubt about it: The creature would not be too likely to repeat the earlier show of 'mercy' by imprisoning her. Their claws sunk into her flesh, choking the hunter. Their might was overpowering, their threatening growl serving even further to drive her despair home. If the last situation had been difficult to get out of, now... now she could see none. This was the end. What had roused the beast from its slumber, she couldn't be sure of. Had it been an unfortunate coincidence, or mayhaps actions she herself had done? But in the end, how would this death differ from what the other hunter had faced? That Mistletoe would never know.

And thus ends the tale of the adventure of the three hunters. One of them chose survival over solidarity, the remaining two perished together, at least only a few metres apart if nothing else. The mysteries behind the beast, the deity the Jailor seemed to serve or the house might never come to daylight... but on the other hand, would trying to figure them out have been worth the risk?

@Dusksong@Lord of Evil